The system of the present invention compliments the restraint devices that are currently used for the prevention of inadvertent displacement, from a vehicle, of a hose, cable, or other such long, flexible object. The system serves no significant restraining function, but instead serves primarily to alert personnel that displacement of the restrained object has occurred; alternatively, or in addition, the system may serve to signal personnel as to which of several monitored objects has been intentionally deployed.
The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) mandates, in 1901 Section 15.10.7 of the apparatus standard, that a mechanism be used to secure hoses, from the front, rear, and sides, to prevent inadvertent displacement from the beds in which they are stored on a fire truck. The tarp covers, webbing, and other devices used for securing hoses do not however always suffice. Failure may be due to wear or inherent defects in the restraining device; but it is believed that, more commonly, accidental release is a result of hasty or careless placement of the restraints provided, which can readily occur after use, particularly under urgent circumstances.
Similar concerns and problems are presented when hoses are transported by other vehicles, such as oil-delivery and tree-spraying trucks, as well as when vehicles such as utility trucks transport electrical and structural cable and other such long, flexible objects.
There are numerous reports of property damage, and of severe personal injury and even of death of bystanders, resulting from impact by a hose and or cable trailing from a moving vehicle. Such accidents happen essentially because the operator of the vehicle has no way of knowing that an inadvertent displacement has occurred, and the provision of a suitable monitoring and alerting system therefore represents a severe, unsatisfied need.
The system of the present invention adds a very substantial measure of safety under the circumstances described, by alerting the operator, or other personnel, that a hose, cable, or the like is no longer in its properly stored position. The invention obviates, or at least very substantially diminishes, the potential for injury due to the accidental release of such objects from a moving truck or other vehicle.
A hose-laying vehicle that employs a mechanical connection between a loop of hose and a switch, for activating a warning device for a predetermined period, is disclosed in Riddell et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,180. The express, general object of the invention of that patent is however to alert the operator of the vehicle that substantially all of the hose to be laid has been discharged; thus, it neither teaches nor suggests the invention of the present application.